Merike Blofield
Professor
Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies
2017 Gender & Social Development Faculty Lead-UMIA
About Merike Blofield
Merike Blofield is professor of political science (Ph.D. at UNC-Chapel Hill, 2003). A native of Finland, she has lived in Canada, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and the United States. Blofield has published two-single-authored books (Care Work and Class: Domestic Workers’ Struggle for Equal Rights in Latin America, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012; The Politics of Moral Sin: Abortion and Divorce in Spain, Chile and Argentina, Routledge, 2006), and one edited volume (The Great Gap: Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution in Latin America, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011). Care Work and Class won the National Women’s Studies Association Sara A. Whaley Book Award for 2013. Among other journals, she has published in Comparative Politics, Latin American Research Review and Social Politics, and has directed projects funded by the Ford Foundation (2007-2009) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do São Paulo (2012).
Education
| 1994 | B.A. Political Science York University |
| 1996 | Political Science York University |
| 2003 | Ph.D. Political Science UNC-Chapel Hill |
Professional Experience
| 2003 - 2006 | Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Grand Valley State University |
| 2006 - 2010 | Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Miami |
| 2011 - 2012 | Visiting Research Professor, INSPER |
| 2010 - | Associate Professor with tenure, Department of Political Science, University of Miami |
| 2015 - | Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program , University of Miami |
| 2017 - | Faculty Lead, Gender and Social Development, University of Miami Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas |
Honors & Acknowledgements
Fellowships
2013
Provost Research Award, University of Miami, $17,000
2012
Visiting Research Fellowship, “The Incomplete Revolution” in Brazil: Understanding the
Changing Role of Women and Government Policy Responses.” Fundação de Amparo à
Pesquisa do São Paulo (FAPESP), $ Reais 83,752/$US 41,876
2012
Associated Researcher. Survey Research Project Grant on “Gender Relations, Family
Dynamics and Labor Force Participation Among Low-Income Families in São Paulo”.
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do São Paulo (FAPESP), $ Reais 73,665/ $US 36,832
2007-9
Project Director, Observatory on Inequality in Latin America, at the University of
Miami, funded by the Ford Foundation, $300,000 (see www.observatoryla.org)
2007
General Research Support Award, University of Miami, $4,720
2005
Summer Research Grant, (Italy and Spain), Grand Valley State University, $5,000
2001
Dissertation Field Research Fellowship (Argentina), The Graduate School, UNC-Chapel
Hill, $7000
2000
Doctoral Field Research Grant (Spain, Chile and Argentina), Institute for the Study of
World Politics, $10,000
2000
Doctoral Field Research Grant (Chile), UNC-Duke Flacso-Chile Exchange Program
Ford Foundation, $7,000
1997
Doctoral fellowship, The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada,
2000 $ 36,000 Cdn
Recipient of National Women’s Studies Association Sara A. Whaley Book Award on best book on women and labor for Care Work and Class
Best Conference Paper (2nd prize). Feudal Enclaves and Political Reforms: Domestic Workers in Latin America. Latin American Studies Association Gender Section
Conferences & Events
| 2017 | Presenter, UNICEF Conference on early childhood policies, “Primera Infancia: Una oportunidad clave para desarrollo” | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| 2016 | Presenter, “Human Rights and Families”, United Nations Friendship Retreat for UN Diplomats, | Hamilton, Bermuda |
More Conferences | |
Memberships
Co-President, “Women and Politics” section of the American Political Science Association (elected August 2017)
Coordinating Lead Author of the chapter on families for the International Panel on Social Progress
2015-2018
Coordinating Lead Author of the chapter on families for the International Panel on Social
Progress, modeled after the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, to address
social challenges of the 21st century (http://www.ip-socialprogress.org/). This is a global
project, with the participation of about 200 academics from around the world.
Member of nominations committee for the Executive Council of LASA (Latin American Studies Association)
Co-associate editor, LASA Forum, trimestral publication of the Latin American Studies Association
Co-chair of the conference track on “Citizenship, Rights, and Justice”
2012
Co-chair of the conference track on “Citizenship, Rights, and Justice” for the Latin
American Studies Association 2013 LASA Congress
Co-organizer of the Women and Politics section pre-conference at the American Political Science Association Conference
Reviewer of grant applications for the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Fulbright and for the Norwegian Research Council
Editorial Board Member, Latin American Politics and Society
Comparative politics, Latin American politics, Gender and politics, Social and labor policies
Publications
Blofield, Merike Care Work and Class: Domestic Workers’ Struggle for Equal Rights in Latin America (Pennsylvania State University Press. 2012).
Blofield, Merike The Politics of Moral Sin: Abortion and Divorce in Spain, Chile and Argentina (New York, New York, Routledge. 2006).
More Publications
